When you’re launching an eCommerce app, there are a million things to think about — from detailed coding issues to overall layout and design decisions. Communication is one aspect that often gets treated as an afterthought. However, solid communication features can make all the difference between an app’s stellar success or abject failure.
In-app chat is a vital feature that every modern eCommerce app should include. Here’s why.
Keeping Customers Engaged
To begin with, in-app chat helps you keep customers engaged. If someone has a question about one of the products featured in your app, there’s no quicker way for them to get answers than in real-time chat. Similarly, chat features allow users to reach out to sellers or to customer support quickly and with minimal friction.
Embedding these features directly in your app has several crucial advantages. For one, this allows you to custom-tailor your chat solutions to your app’s specific requirements. For another, it also eliminates the need for customers to leave your app in order to communicate.
Overall, this boosts customer engagement.
Decreasing Cart Abandonment
Another way in which in-app chat can boost the success of your eCommerce app is that it helps decrease cart abandonment.
Imagine you’re a potential buyer who has a last-minute question about an item already in their cart. Does the dress really have pockets? Does the size of the pants fit my frame? Can I return the item if I don’t end up liking the color? Such doubts can easily lead to cart abandonment. Either, people will click back to the item description to look for answers. Or they’ll leave the app entirely and come back another day — maybe.
However, if a chat button to contact the seller is right there, it’s a different story. The threshold to sending a quick message and getting immediate answers is suddenly very low.
Overall, this helps buyers settle any doubts, get their questions answered, and make purchase decisions.
Boosting Trust
A third way that chat features can help you level up your eCommerce app is by boosting trust in sellers and your app.
For one thing, an app is a much more secure environment in which to communicate with sellers. If you’re a potential buyer with a question or concern about an item, chatting with a seller in the app is much more trust-inspiring than texting a random number or writing to an unknown email address. Similarly, having the option to reach out to customer support via chat is a hallmark of a trustworthy app in many customers’ minds.
Improving Customer Support
Finally, in-app chat can help you improve your customers’ overall experience.
Chat features and video calls are among the most popular methods for customers to reach out if they encounter technical issues or problems with sellers. In fact, global satisfaction with live chat customer service lies at 84%, according to Statista.
Conclusion
In-app chat can be an essential asset for your eCommerce app. It helps you keep customers engaged, reduces cart abandonment, builds trust, and improves customer support. This will level up your overall customer experience — and supercharge the success of your eCommerce app.
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